Spaceman (2024) Review & Ending Explained: Does Jakub and Lenka get back together?

Netflix’s new sci-fi film “Spaceman,” starring Adam Sandler, follows the story of an astronaut on a solitary research voyage to outer space. However, during his solo mission, he encounters an alien creature that leads him to a somber realization: his self-absorbed world is the cause of his estranged relationship with his wife. Is it too late for him to set things right?

This article contain spoilers; readers discretion advised.

Spaceman (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:

Commander Jakub Prochazka (Adam Sandler) is an astronaut affiliated with the Euro Space Program. He is on a solo mission to study and collect samples of a violet-colored phenomenon known as the Chopra Cloud. His only point of contact, via Czech connection, is his commanding officer, Komisarz Tuma (Isabella Rossellini), and another engineer/best friend, Peter (Kunal Nayyar), who keep track of his well-being from the control room back on Earth.

While Jakub is voyaging into space, committed to learning more about the Chopra Cloud, back at home, his heavily pregnant wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan), is considering the idea of leaving him following a strain in their relationship. During one of the conferences, a young girl (Sunny Sandler) asks Jakub if he feels sad to be lonely out there. Despite feeling depressed and lonely, Jakub gives a somewhat rehearsed answer about how his mission keeps him going, and he looks forward to returning with positive results.

Why does Tuma decide not to share Lenka’s message with Jakub?

Meanwhile, it is revealed that Lenka has ceased communication with Jakub, who has been patiently awaiting his wife’s call. Peter shares Lenka’s final video message with Tuma wherein she declares her decision to leave Jakub. However, Tuma chooses not to disclose the message to Jakub, fearing that it would negatively impact his mental well-being and jeopardize the mission.

Jakub is sleep-deprived and has been experiencing exhaustion due to the loud beeping sound of the malfunctioned toilet compartment. On top of that, being away from Earth and not being able to speak to his wife is adding more anxiety. This is when things get intense for him as he finds a giant spider in the spacecraft. At first, he thinks he is hallucinating, and immediately requests Peter to initiate decontamination of the entire spacecraft sensing a foreign entity.

Did Yakub imagine Hanuš?

A person can stay away from human interaction up to a certain point. When Lenka stopped connecting with Yakub, he started experiencing more nightmares than usual. These nightmares were triggered by troubled memories from the past when Lenka would often ask him to be there with her for the sake of their marriage and the promises they made to each other. However, being alone in the vast space for such a long time gives a person so much time to think and imagine things. We can assume that his imagination and longing for his wife birthed a figment that would make sense of his reality.

Initially frightened by the telepathic arachnid’s presence, Jakub slowly becomes comfortable around the eight-legged creature. He thinks he is hallucinating, but when the spider starts interacting with him referring Jakub as ‘Skinny Human’, reassuring that it will not harm him and is only interested in the human species. Jakub even names the extraterrestrial spider Hanuš (a soothing voice by Paul Dano), after a Czech scientist he learned about from his father.

How did Hanuš find his way to Jakub?

During their routine conversation, we learn that Hanuš comes from the beginning of time (he even witnessed the big bang theory!) and when his planet was invaded by the Gorompeds, he fled and entered Earth’s solar system. This is when he got drawn to the sound of Jan Hus-1 (spacecraft) that was traveling towards Jupiter, making him curious about the human inside.

Why did Jakub and Lenka have a fallout?

It takes two people to maintain a healthy marriage and relationship. Jakub and Lenka, once deeply in love and married young, slowly drifted apart after Lenka experienced her first miscarriage. When Lenka needed support through her physical, mental, and emotional suffering, Jakub, preparing for a year-long solo mission in space, prioritized his mission over being present for his wife.

Despite Lenka’s second pregnancy and her plea for his presence, Jakub failed to address their marital issues. In a flashback, Lenka, who had been supportive of Jakub’s ground-breaking success in his daring mission, reached a breaking point when she realized their marriage revolved solely around him, causing her to lose sight of her own identity within the relationship.

All this tension between the couple also stems from Jakub’s childhood trauma from his informant father who acted tough and strange around him, leading Jakub to become emotionally distant.

Why happens when Tuma visits Lenka?

As Yakub finds himself halfway through his journey, sensing that Lenka’s lack of communication might hinder his mission, Tuma decides to visit Lenka after discovering she’s attending a retreat for pregnant women. Lenka, battling depression and loneliness for a long period, is determined to change her life for the sake of her upcoming baby. She has decided to leave her husband, driven by the need to be seen as an equal in their marriage and to escape the shadow cast by her husband’s career, which has strained their relationship.

Upon meeting Lenka, Tuma learns of her decision and acknowledges that she can’t directly intervene. Instead, Tuma reminds Lenka of the importance of communication in their strained relationship, especially since Yakub, who is far away, needs her support the most. Tuma leaves it to Lenka to decide whether to reach out to Yakub or not.

Did Hanuš help Jakub understand his mistakes?

Hanuš possesses great wisdom and understands the turmoil Jakub has been experiencing. He even questions Jakub about his actions in the past for being absent to his wife when she needed him the most. Hanuš sees through Jakub’s tormenting past memories and poses self-reflective questions, such as why he fears the truth so much (referring to why he can’t confront his wife about their marital issues), and if he wants to reverse any of his actions. The eight-legged creature triggers reflections in Yakub, bringing forth mental images of childhood traumas and marital issues that Yakub habitually avoided confronting.

These interactions help Jakub understand the grave mistake he made by leaving home and his wife alone. This is also the moment when Hanuš points out that Yakub is a selfish person who only connects with others when he needs something. He initially connected with Lenka because she brought him happiness, then he wanted Lenka to communicate because he felt lonely due to his overwhelming mission, and now he is following the same pattern with Hanuš. Hanuš highlights that Yakub’s loneliness is self-inflicted and leaves him to be alone once again.

Spaceman (2024) Ending Explained:

Does Yakub apologize to Lenka?

The last interaction with Hanuš triggers Yakub to revisit all the moments he shared with Lenka, including their promise to follow each other wherever they go. He comes to the realization that he broke all the promises he made to Lenka and that he is the main reason for their downfall. Yakub decides to call Peter for help in connecting with Lenka over the phone. During the call, he apologizes for everything and expresses his willingness to put his best foot forward and be a better man and father if she considers giving him another chance. Lenka, who listens to the call, chooses not to respond.

What happens to Hanuš?

As Jakub approaches the giant Chopra Cloud, the spacecraft starts experiencing multiple system failures. Meanwhile, Yakub revisits a memory from the past where he sees a spider comforting him, indicating that Hanuš has returned and forgiven him after witnessing Jakub reflecting on his wrongdoings. However, Hanuš’s health appears to be failing after being infected by alien bugs from the encounter with the Gorompeds. Hanuš decides to leave the spacecraft to save Yakub, but Yakub refuses to leave his new friend behind and follows him out into space.

As Hanuš reaches the end of his time, he shows Yakub his lifetime memories, including a tender moment between him and his father. Yakub also gets to relive moments from his life with Lenka. The film then cuts to the opening scene where Yakub, dressed in a spacesuit, walks in a river in a forest and sees Lenka dressed as a water nymph princess, reminiscent of their first interaction at a costume party where they wore the same dress.

Does Jakub and Lenka get back together?

As Yakub finally bids a heartbreaking goodbye to Hanuš, who eventually meets his end, a long journey into the purple Chopra Cloud helps Yakub understand how ungrateful he had been all this time and how he has been ignorant towards Lenka and the love he still holds for his wife. Eventually, he gets saved by the Korean spacecraft, who were also heading towards the Chopra Cloud.

“Spaceman” (2024) ends with Yakub making a call to Lenka from the Korean spacecraft (who had patiently waited at their home provided by the Euro Space Program). Yakub apologizes once again and reminisces about the first time they kissed, sparking a desire to share another kiss upon his return. This scene metaphorically signifies Yakub’s readiness to relinquish his dreams of becoming an astronaut and prioritize his family over his career. The movie ends with their reconciliation and reunion upon Yakub’s return to Earth.

Spaceman (2024) Movie Review:

Spaceman is directed by Johan Renck in collaboration with Jakob Ihre (the cinematographer of 2017’s Thelma) and Max Richter, who provided an interesting score for the film. The film had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival and Sandler gives a noteworthy performance portraying a depressed man, reminiscent of movies like “Ad Astra,” “First Man,” and “Solaris.”

Adam Sandler, known for his fantastic performance in “Punch-Drunk Love” and most recently in “Uncut Gems,” offers us a psychological sci-fi drama about a man experiencing an existential crisis millions of light-years away from his wife, grappling with their marital issues.

While the film focuses on the self-reflection of a middle-aged man and how his ignorant actions caused strain in his relationship with his wife, it also brings out the human nature of being selfish and absorbing energies from our immediate environment based on our needs and convenience.

Also, Read: Spaceman Soundtrack: Every Song in the 2024 Netflix Movie

The use of the giant alien species in the film portrays it as a therapist who understands the cause and effect of Jakub’s troublesome issues, helping him understand the origin of his inhibitions and wrong actions. Despite the somber tone of the story and the character’s journey toward self-realization, the humor typical of Sandler’s films remains intact, especially in his interactions with Hanuš, who delivers candid truths to him.

Adapted from Jaroslav Kalfař’s sci-fi novel “Spaceman of Bohemia,” the film features great moments between Sandler and Dano, with the latter providing insights into how humans are a weird species, full of complexities based on their foolish actions that are essentially self-inflicted.

Paul Dano’s voice as the extraterrestrial spider is soothing and extremely therapeutic. However, Mulligan’s presence in the film, though minimal, is meant to be the core of Sandler’s character’s arc, yet it feels underused. Nonetheless, while “Spaceman” may appear to be a serious film attempting to explore the creeping loneliness and sadness stemming from strained relationships, it ultimately fails to evoke emotions towards any of these themes, except perhaps a feeling of cuteness towards the giant spider.

Read More: Everything Coming to Netflix in March 2024

Spaceman (2023) Movie Trailer:

Spaceman (2024) Movie Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Wikipedia, Letterboxd
Cast: Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, Kunal Nayyar, Lena Olin, Isabella Rossellini, Paul Dano
Genre: Sci-fi/Adventure, Runtime: 1h 48m

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